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UN Sanitation News

UN experts call for rebuilding Zimbabwe’s health, food systems22 December 2008 – Four independent United Nations human rights experts today called on the Government of Zimbabwe and the international community to do more to rebuild the country’s health system, end the worst cholera epidemic ever recorded there and ensure adequate food for all people as millions face hunger. FULL REPORT>>

Flood-stricken Papua New Guinea receives UN assistance16 December 2008 – The United Nations is sending a disaster assessment team to Papua New Guinea after severe sea swells hit the northern shoreline, affecting up to 60,000 people, according to government estimates. FULL REPORT>>

In northern Kyrgyzstan, UN refugee agency funds school and sanitation projects28 November 2008 – The United Nations refugee agency is supporting school and sanitation projects in rural areas of northern Kyrgyzstan that have served as home to former refugees from neighbouring Tajikistan. FULL REPORT>>

Ban alarmed as humanitarian conditions worsen in Zimbabwe25 November 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today voiced alarm at the deteriorating humanitarian conditions inside Zimbabwe, where an estimated 6 million people could soon require food aid, a deadly cholera outbreak is spreading and health-care, education and sanitation services are collapsing. FULL STORY>>

UN-backed scheme gives 3,000 Kenyan prisoners clean water and sanitation24 November 2008 – Some 3,000 prisoners, staff and their families in Kenya will have access to clean water and basic sanitation thanks to a new United Nations-backed programme. FULL STORY>>

Better sanitation is a matter of basic human dignity, UN expert says18 November 2008 – Boosting the standard of sanitation in poor countries worldwide is a matter of basic human dignity, and yet 40 per cent of the global population still does not have access to toilets, a United Nations rights expert said today, calling for donor investment to be stepped up to save lives and reduce the spread of diseases. FULL STORY>>

Experts discuss water and sanitation access to millions in Asia-Pacific Region 13 November 2008 – The three-day UN-supported 2nd International WASH Practitioners’ Marketplace and Fair ended on Thursday, 13 November in the town of Cox’s Bazar in southeastern Bangladesh. It was organized by ESCAP and STREAMS of Knowledge - a global coalition of resource centres engaged in capacity development in the area of water, sanitation and hygiene. FULL STORY>>

UNICEF ambassador voices concern for Central Africans on lack of clean water6 November 2008 – The United States rock singer and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Goodwill Ambassador Joel Madden has voiced concern for the thousands of children in the Central African Republic (CAR) whose lives are threatened by tainted water diseases after completing his first visit to the impoverished, strife-torn country. FULL STORY>>

UN seeks $17 million to assist Honduran flood victims30 October 2008 – United Nations agencies and their non-governmental organisation (NGO) partners today appealed for more than $17 million to provide food, shelter, health care, water and sanitation over the next six months to some 270,000 people affected by severe floods in Honduras. FULL STORY>>

Millions lather up to save lives as UN observes Global Handwashing Day15 October 2008 – Nearly 200 million people from over 70 countries participated today in United Nations events marking the first ever Global Handwashing Day, held to raise awareness about how a lack of effective sanitation and poor hygiene practices can bring death and disease. FULL STORY>>

International Day of the Rural Women (Statement by the Secretary-General) 15 October 2008 – Ban Ki-moon took the opportunity on the 1st International Day of the Rural Women, to pay tribute to the valuable contributions made by
rural women, including indigenous women, to agriculture and development. The Secretary-General also emphasised that improvements in roads, health care, water and sanitation systems and environmental protection will elevate not only women but society as a whole. FULL STATEMENT>>

UNICEF Ambassadors, The Wiggles, use jingle to encourage kids to wash hands10 October 2008 – Popular Australian children’s entertainers and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Goodwill Ambassadors, The Wiggles, have created a catchy tune to help motivate millions of children worldwide to transform the mundane act of handwashing into an enjoyable habit, thereby improving hygiene and reducing the risk of disease. FULL STORY >>

International Day for Disaster Reduction (Message by the Secretary-General)8 October 2008 – The observance of the International Day for Disaster Reduction for 2008 takes place in a year that has seen more than its fair share of natural calamities, and falls on the third anniversary of the earthquake in South Asia. Now more than ever, when we are trying to accelerate national and international efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, disaster risk reduction needs to be acknowledged and incorporated as a key plank of that work. Only by investing in tangible risk reduction measures can we reduce vulnerability and protect development. FULL MESSAGE >>

Urbanization must not come at expense of environment, say UN officials6 October 2008 – Top United Nations officials have marked World Habitat Day with a call to ensure that the rapid urbanization of towns and cities – which the majority of people today call home – is accompanied by decent living conditions and efforts to preserve the environment. FULL STORY>>

Tajik leader calls on UN for urgent assistance on water-related issues25 September 2008– The leader of Tajikistan today called on the General Assembly to take urgent action to boost the supply of water to meet development challenges. FULL STORY>>

Guinea-Bissau: UN agencies maintain fight against deadly cholera outbreak 25 September 2008 – The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) continue to help authorities in Guinea-Bissau combat an outbreak of cholera that has claimed at least 133 lives since May and forced thousands of others to be hospitalized. FULL STORY>>

Remarks on sanitation and water supply "One World One Dream: Sanitation and Water for All"24 September 2008– Speech of Secretary General Ban Ki-moon during the High-Level Event on the Millenium Development Goals at the United Nations Headquarters about the recent situation and trends on sanitation and water supply . FULL STORY>>

Ban urges accelerated efforts to expand access to safe drinking water24 September 2008– Warning that a world without water will be very unstable, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called for a three-pronged strategy to ensure that the poorest inhabitants of the developing world have access to clean water and basic sanitation within seven years. FULL STORY>>

UNICEF brings relief to hurricane-ravaged Cuba, Turks and Caicos Islands
13 September 2008 – United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) staff in Cuba are rushing to provide clean water and sanitation to the areas hardest hit this week by Hurricane Ike, the fourth deadly tropical storm to batter the Caribbean region with torrential rains and heavy winds within the past month. FULL STORY>>

New UN report ‘sounds strong alarm’ on gaps in achieving development goals
4 September 2008 – Trade and aid are still major barriers to achieving the anti-poverty goals that countries committed themselves to achieving by 2015, despite significant progress in debt relief for the poorest States, according to a United Nations report launched today by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. FULL STORY>>

Greater efforts needed to provide safe water for more than 1 billion people, says Ban 1 September 2008 – More than one billion people still lack access to safe drinking water, Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said today, calling for greater efforts to achieve the water and sanitation targets set by world leaders in 2000. FULL STORY>>

UN agencies join forces to combat environmentally-related diseases in Africa26 August 2008 – A United Nations-sponsored conference that aims to tackle the environmental causes of diseases that claimed almost 2.5 million African lives each year begins in Gabon today. FULL STORY>>

Marking World Water Week, UNICEF calls for boost in sanitation18 August 2008 – The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has stressed the importance of sanitation and hygiene in schools as events are held around the globe to mark World Water Week, which began yesterday. FULL STORY>>

Five-year development road map agreed by UN and Timor-Leste8 August 2008 – The United Nations and Timor-Leste’s Government have embarked on a five-year programme to reduce poverty, consolidate democracy and provide basic social services for the people of the nation which the UN helped shepherd to independence in 2002. FULL STORY>>

Despite progress, over 2 billion people lack access to improved sanitation – UN17 July 2008 – Despite recent progress, more than 2.5 billion people lack access to improved sanitation, while nearly 1.2 billion people defecate without sanitary facilities, posing a major health threat to their communities, according to a report released today by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the UN World Health Organization (WHO). FULL STORY>>

UN issues call for $33 million to help earthquake survivors in China16 July 2008 – The United Nations launched an appeal today for $33.5 million to help victims of May’s devastating earthquake in China, which claimed nearly 70,000 lives, injured hundreds of thousands of people and left more than 5 million homeless. FULL STORY>>

UNICEF joins forces to launch water and sanitation project in Uganda1 July 2008 – The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the European Union today launched a joint, four-year initiative to improve water and sanitation facilities in 21 districts across rural Uganda. FULL STORY>>

Water and sanitation vital to achieving other development goals, UN official says13 May 2008 – Improving access to safe drinking water and decent sanitation worldwide will be critical to resolving many other challenges relating to sustainable development, such as desertification, rural health and ensuring that agriculture in poor countries is more effective, a United Nations official said today.
FULL STORY>>

Business leaders with UN Global Compact urge action on water crisis7 May 2008 – Governments of the Group of Eight (G8) countries need to take urgent action on the emerging global crisis in water and sanitation, say business leaders from some of the world’s largest companies who have endorsed the United Nations Global Compact.
FULL STORY>>

Lack of political will biggest obstacle to improving sanitation – Secretary-General22 March 2008 – A lack of political will remains the greatest obstacle to efforts to drastically reduce the number of people without access to basic sanitation and clean, running water, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today, calling on the international community to take firmer and faster steps to tackle the problem.
FULL STORY>>

Unclean water threatens health of one million Central Africans, UN warns20 March 2008 – Up to one million Central Africans do not have access to clean water and therefore are highly vulnerable to threat of deadly waterborne diseases because of the conflict threatening their country, United Nations relief agencies reported today.
FULL STORY>>

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's Message on World Water Day 2008March 2008 – Secretary-General, in message for World Water Day, calls lack of political will biggest culprit in failure to achieve basic sanitation goal.
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Bringing the issue out of the closet, adolescent girls launch a Guidance booklet on Menstrual Hygiene Management8 March – In a function marking the International Women’s Day and the International Year of Sanitation, young adolescent girls and women released the Guidance booklet developed by UNICEF on Menstrual Hygiene Management and a short film on the same in New Delhi today.
FULL STORY>>

IYS Launch in Pakistan4 March 2008 – The Federal Minister for Environment, Govt. of Pakistan, Syed Wajid Hussain Bukhari formally launched the International Year of Sanitation 2008 here on Tuesday, March 4, 2008.
FULL STORY>>

Ban Ki-Moon warns that water shortages are increasingly driving conflicts6 February 2008 – Many of today’s conflicts around the world are being fuelled or exacerbated by water shortages and climate change is only making the situation worse, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the General Assembly today. FULL STORY>>

UN refugee agency cautious about returns to Iraq23 November 2007 – Responding to recent public reports about refugees returning to Iraq in limited numbers, a spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) today cautioned against an organized effort to send civilians back to the war-ravaged country. FULL STORY>>

UN launches International Year to draw attention to global sanitation crisis21 November 2007 – The United Nations today kicked off the International Year of Sanitation in a bid to accelerate progress for the 2.6 billion people around the world who do not enjoy the basic right to proper sanitation facilities. FULL STORY>>

UN grants $8.8 million to aid cyclone victims in Bangladesh20 November 2007 – The United Nations has allocated $8.8 million from its Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to support relief efforts in the wake of the deadly cyclone which struck Bangladesh last week, affecting more than 3 million people in the South Asian nation. FULL STORY>>

Fresh skirmishes force thousands of displaced Congolese to flee North Kivu – UN13 November 2007 – The United Nations refugee agency is concerned about tens of thousands of Congolese civilians who, having already been displaced due to recent clashes between Government forces and renegade troops in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), have had to flee anew as gun battles erupted today between the two groups. FULL STORY>>

DR Congo: UN agency steps up efforts to curb spread of cholera in North Kivu09 November 2007– The United Nations refugee agency is intensifying its efforts to combat the spread of cholera in the troubled North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a spokesman for the agency said today. FULL STORY>>

Low-Cost Technologies could ensure Sanitation for all, says Senior UN Official31 October 2007 – With more than 2.6 billion people – 40 per cent of the world’s population – lacking access to toilets and other sanitation facilities, the head of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme has urged governments to adopt low-cost technology to ensure adequate sanitation for all. FULL STORY>>

UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, urges greater efforts to tackle 'Silen Crisis' of Safe Water for all24 October 2007 – Unveiling a new exhibit at United Nations Headquarters highlighting one of the earth’s most precious resources, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for greater efforts to ensure the most basic of human needs – safe water. FULL STORY>>

UN opens office in Spain to support the International Decade for Action ‘Water for Life’ 2005-2015 5 October 2007 – A United Nations office to support the International Decade for Action “Water for Life” 2005-2015 opened in Zaragoza, Spain, on 5 October 2007. The office will be managed by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) and will facilitate the coordinated implementation of UN-Water’s work on water and sanitation, especially in the areas of communication and advocacy to raise awareness of the challenges and opportunities to solve global water and sanitation issues. FULL STORY>>

Cholera continues to spread in Iraq, UN health agency reports4 October 2007 – Cholera is continuing to spread across Iraq and dissemination to as yet unaffected areas remains highly possible, with more than 30,000 people having already fallen ill with acute watery diarrhoea, according to the latest update by the United Nations health agency. FULL STORY>>

UN continues to provide support for flood-ravaged Ugandans3 October 2007 – The United Nations is continuing to deliver aid to the hundreds of thousands of Ugandans suffering from the worst flooding the Central African nation has seen in decades. FULL STORY>>

Flood victims in Sudan mount by 100,000 to well over half million, UN reports24 September 2007 – With the number of flood victims in Sudan rising by at least another 100,000 to well over half a million, United Nations agencies and their partners are putting contingency measures into effect to respond to the emergency despite a $19 million funding shortfall. FULL STORY>>

Iraqi cholera outbreak widens to include first case in Baghdad – UN health agency21 September 2007 – The cholera outbreak in northern Iraq has spread south to the capital Baghdad and more than 1,500 cases have now been confirmed across the country, the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) reported today. FULL STORY>>

UN-backed $41 million emergency appeal launched for flood-ravaged Ugandans21 September 2007 – A United Nations-backed flash appeal was launched today for $41 million to provide urgently-needed assistance some 300,000 flood-beleaguered Ugandans, including more than 100,000 already vulnerable internally displaced persons (IDPs). FULL STORY>>

Cholera outbreak in northern Iraq remains major health threat, UN reports19 September 2007 – The cholera outbreak in northern Iraq continues to be a major threat to public health in the region with over 3.3 million people presumed to be exposed to the risk of an epidemic, according to an update by the United Nations health agency. FULL STORY>>

Relief effort steps up in northern Ghana after floods strike region, says UN18 September 2007 – United Nations emergency staff today set up a humanitarian coordination centre in northern Ghana to help with relief efforts in the wake of floods that have killed at least 20 people, destroyed numerous roads, bridges and schools, and inundated vital cropland. FULL STORY>>

UN food aid reaches tens of thousands of Ethiopian flood victims14 September 2007 – Distribution of food for more than 60,000 Ethiopian flood victims has started amid some overcrowding in temporary shelters and the threat of an outbreak of water-borne diseases, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) reported today. FULL STORY>>

Number of cholera cases in northern Iraq doubles, but death toll remains static – UN14 September 2007 – The number of people struck by a cholera outbreak in Northern Iraq has doubled to 16,000 people but the death toll remains the same at 10, the United Nations health agency reported today. FULL STORY>>

UN to launch $17-million appeal to feed 100,000 Nicaraguan hurricane victims13 September 2007 – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said today that it plans to launch a $17-million emergency appeal for 100,000 hurricane victims in Nicaragua, as rescue crews reported that they were stunned by the intensity of the destruction wrought along the impoverished country’s northern coast. FULL STORY>>